RADAR TEST DURING MESSENGER LAUNCH MAY HELP RETURN TO FLIGHT
Melissa Mathews
August 25, 2004
Headquarters, Washington
(Phone: 202/358-1272)
George H. Diller
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
(Phone: 321/867-2468)
KSC Release: 63-04
Radar Test During Messenger Launch May Help Return To Flight
Radar tracking data gathered during the Delta II launch of the
MESSENGER spacecraft earlier this month has provided promising
results that may benefit NASA's Space Shuttle Program and Discovery's
Return to Flight.
A pair of radars installed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., at a
site north of Haulover Canal tracked the launch phase of the Delta
II, including separation of the nine solid rocket boosters and
jettison of the first stage and the payload fairing, the "nose" of
the rocket that protected the MESSENGER spacecraft during launch.
"This test was quite successful for us in proving a concept," said
NASA project manager Tony Griffith. "The use of high-resolution wide
band and Doppler radars allows us to observe almost any possible
debris during ascent and means we can observe the Space Shuttle
without regard to limitations of visibility, cloud cover and
darkness."
More importantly, the tandem radars "saw" -- in significant detail --
ice shedding from the Delta first stage, ejection of the solid rocket
booster nozzle throat plugs, and contents of their exhaust. These are
normal Delta launch events. For the Space Shuttle Program, the test
showed that the radars, working together, were effective in
visualizing the vehicle elements in high resolution and the ability
to attain speedy interpretation of the images for initial data
analysis after a Shuttle launch.
The antennas have been on loan to NASA from the USNS Pathfinder, a
U.S. Navy instrumentation ship. The 30-foot-diameter C-band wideband
radar antenna and the smaller X-band Doppler radar worked together to
image the Delta in flight. The Navy operated the radars for NASA
during the MESSENGER launch. NASA was responsible for analyzing the
imagery.
"This turned out to be a successful and mutually beneficial
partnership with the Navy that we will pursue," Griffith said.
Later this fall, a 50-foot-diameter C-band wide band radar will be
installed on this site for a similar Return to Flight application and
for use by the Navy. The radar is being relocated to KSC from the
Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Puerto Rico.
The radars used for the test are being returned to the USNS
Pathfinder, though the C-band radar used in this test could return as
a backup for Return to Flight, if available from the Navy. NASA is
evaluating the procurement of two X-band Doppler radars for use on
ships downrange, including one of the solid rocket booster retrieval
ships.
KSC Photo Number: KSC-04PD-1607
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